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TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $19 (Toronto symbol TCL.SV.A; SI Rating: Average) is the seventh-largest commercial printing firm in North America. It also publishes newspapers and magazines, distributes flyers and other advertising materials, and operates several Internet sites. In the past few years, two-thirds of Transcontinental’s growth has come from its aggressive acquisition strategy. But under a new long-term plan, Transcontinental will probably make fewer acquisitions, and build up its existing operations. For example, Transcontinental plans to offer its printing customers more advisory services and special ad packages, in its publications and online. It hopes to make their ads effective, cut their costs, and generate added revenue....

CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE $76 (Toronto symbol CM; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s fifth-largest bank with $280.4 billion in assets. In August 2005, the bank set aside $2.8 billion (or $7.45 a share) to cover various lawsuit settlements related to its dealings with bankrupt U.S. energy trading firm Enron Corp. The charge wiped out about 20% of CIBC’s shareholders’ equity. It also forced it to suspend stock buybacks, and freeze its $2.72 dividend, which yields 3.6%. CIBC now hopes that its new restructuring plan will cut its annual operating expenses by $250 million, which would bring its costs in line with the other big banks....

BANK OF MONTREAL $63 (Toronto symbol BMO; SI Rating: Above average) is the fourthlargest Canadian bank, with assets of $297.5 billion. The bank earned $1.27 a share (total $657 million) in its fourth fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2005, up 19.8% from $1.06 ($551 million) a year earlier. The latest results include $43 million in one-time gains from the sale of its U.S. online banking business and other assets; the year-earlier period includes $24 million in non-recurring gains. Revenue in the quarter rose 15.2%, to $2.65 billion from $2.3 billion. Strong gains from Canadian operations offset slower growth in the U.S. Bank of Montreal is doing a good job selling investment products and other services to its retail banking customers. However, the bank is recovering fewer loans that it had already written off in prior years. It set aside $57 million for loan losses in the fourth quarter; a year earlier, it cut its total loan loss provisions by $13 million. Although provisions will probably rise in the next year, they’re still well below the peak of the first two years of this decade....

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $47 (Toronto symbol BNS; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s third-largest bank, with assets of $314.0 billion. In its fourth fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2005, earnings grew 15.9%, to $0.80 a share (total $811 million) from $0.69 ($705 million) a year earlier, due to gains in retail, wealth management and international operations. Excluding onetime items, the bank earned $0.77 a share in the latest quarter. Revenue rose 9.6%, to $2.74 billion from $2.5 billion. In the past five years, Bank of Nova Scotia has spent over $800 million on international acquisitions, mostly in the Caribbean and Latin America. These operations now provide about a third of its net income. This makes it the most international of Canada’s big five banks....

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $60 (Toronto symbol TD; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s second-largest bank, with $365.2 billion in assets. In its fourth fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2005, TD’s earnings fell 8.9% to $0.82 a share (total $589 million) from $0.90 a share ($595 million) a year earlier. If you disregard unusual items, per share earnings improved 16.5%, to $1.06 from $0.91. Revenue rose 19.2%, to $3.1 billion from $2.6 billion. TD feels that U.S. banking offers an opportunity to expand its profits. Last year it paid about $5 billion for a controlling stake in U.S.-based Banknorth Group Inc. (now called TD Banknorth). This subsidiary now plans to pay $1.9 billion U.S. for Hudson United Bankcorp, which operates over 200 branches in the New York City area. Meanwhile, TD plans to sell the U.S. operations of its TD Waterhouse online brokerage to rival Ameritrade. In exchange, TD will receive 32% of Ameritrade. It will also acquire Ameritrade’s Canadian brokerage business for $60 million U.S....

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $88 (Toronto symbol RY; SI Rating: Above average) is the largest of Canada’s big five banks, with total assets of $469.5 billion. In its fourth fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2005, Royal set aside $591 million to cover possible lawsuit settlements related to its involvement with U.S. energy trader Enron Corp. It also set aside $203 million more to cover costs at its U.S. insurance operations related to three major hurricanes. These charges cut Royal’s net income from continuing operations in the fourth quarter by 21.9%, to $0.82 a share (total $543 million) from $1.05 ($687 million) a year earlier. If you disregard all unusual charges, per-share earnings grew 18.3%, to $1.68 from $1.42. Revenue rose 4.3%, to $4.8 billion from $4.6 billion....

Flow-through funds are tax shelters that mainly invest in the flow-through shares issued by junior mining and oil companies. These companies spend the proceeds from the shares they sell on mineral exploration and development, an activity that qualifies for certain tax credits and tax deferrals. These tax benefits “flow through” to investors in the fund. To take advantage of these benefits, investors need to hold the funds for a fixed period, usually 18 months to two years. The problem with these tax shelters is that they may persuade you to make a risky investment you wouldn’t otherwise make. Moreover, a portion of the benefits are set aside for brokers and the fund’s organizers. What’s left may not be enough to pay you for taking on the extra risk, especially this year. These tax shelters may post excellent results from time to time. However, as the current climate for resources and commodities shows, booms don’t last forever....